Blew my breaker, plug grounded?

Dougnsalem

Well-Known Member
i dont claim to be the brightest incandescent bulb in the bunch.
Yes , from all my years experience in the field , almost every home in this century is bonded at the panel ....but in about 2002 ish , we had one inspector make us split um up and then in about 2006 ish they all started making us split them up , now they are back to bonding them. I have no idea what going on with all that.
One thing to note for people that may stumble by here- subpanels are not bonded. They changed the code (fairly) recently. Within 5 to 10 years???

This whole thread has been a good read. Seriously.

Edit: Wow, time flys. Changed in 2008 NEC.
 
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getogrow

Well-Known Member
One thing to note for people that may stumble by here- subpanels are not bonded. They changed the code (fairly) recently. Within 5 to 10 years???

This whole thread has been a good read. Seriously.

Edit: Wow, time flys. Changed in 2008 NEC.
yes time flys!
i dont think ive ever bonded a subpanel. I started before 2000. Also , i do not think you can bond any panel with a disconnect even if its the "main" panel. Im not real sure as to why or why not. Im not much of a safety freak , i just wire the house safe and call it good.
 

getogrow

Well-Known Member
I have no bigs words here. I'm clueless to most of what you guys are talking about. I know how to change an outlet. That's about it, lol.
The definition of "electrician" WIDELY differs from person to person. I dont know much about electricity either but i can wire a home up to code. I can do all the simple shit it takes to keep a home up an running safe but when it comes to how electricity works , im confused as the next person.
I thought i knew a little bit about the subject until DC and wiring lights came up. I was dumb. The only one up i had on the next clueless person was that i could read a multimeter.
So sure i got 20+ years in residential service work but im not sure i could call myself an electrician with faith.
 

PadawanWarrior

Well-Known Member
The definition of "electrician" WIDELY differs from person to person. I dont know much about electricity either but i can wire a home up to code. I can do all the simple shit it takes to keep a home up an running safe but when it comes to how electricity works , im confused as the next person.
I thought i knew a little bit about the subject until DC and wiring lights came up. I was dumb. The only one up i had on the next clueless person was that i could read a multimeter.
So sure i got 20+ years in residential service work but im not sure i could call myself an electrician with faith.
I understand DC current way better than AC. I've been playing with DC current forever.
 

getogrow

Well-Known Member
I understand DC current way better than AC. I've been playing with DC current forever.
i think its pretty much the same for the most part, i just went from installing plugs and switches with near zero resistance to fucking with led lights and voltage drop and all that mess.
(if im wiring a home and the wire is going to be over 100ft from the panel , i will up the gauge of wire one notch to compensate for voltage drop.....just a basic way to do it without knowing exactly whats going to be plugged into that outlet/s)
 

bgmike8

Well-Known Member
Im,just realizing i have 4 dedicated 20 amp circuits going on my project. And only 100 amps to the house. So ill,have to live on,like 20-25 amps.. Whats the average furnace pull?
 

getogrow

Well-Known Member
Im,just realizing i have 4 dedicated 20 amp circuits going on my project. And only 100 amps to the house. So ill,have to live on,like 20-25 amps.. Whats the average furnace pull?
an amp or two on a gas furnace.
just because you have 80amps worth of dedicated does not mean you'll ever use it all. IF your going to be pulling 70 or 80 amps just from your project then i would upgrade to a 200amp service but i doubt you need it.
If you want to add everything up on your home then start with EVERY DEVICE that uses heat... microwave, toaster, oven , water heater, ect.... Add up all the watts of those thing then add your project in an see what ya got. 100 amps is usually plenty if you got gas heat.
 

Renfro

Well-Known Member
In my home I have a 150 amp main, I had to move my range, clothes dryer and hot water heater over to gas to free up the amps for the 125 amp subpanel my grow runs on. I typically pull 80 - 90 amps per leg on that panel so I needed that power. Still had to put the flowering rooms on a flip.

Remember a breaker only typically carries 80% of its rating continuously before it will trip. So a 100 amp main is like 80 amps of usable power.
 

bgmike8

Well-Known Member
In my home I have a 150 amp main, I had to move my range, clothes dryer and hot water heater over to gas to free up the amps for the 125 amp subpanel my grow runs on. I typically pull 80 - 90 amps per leg on that panel so I needed that power. Still had to put the flowering rooms on a flip.

Remember a breaker only typically carries 80% of its rating continuously before it will trip. So a 100 amp main is like 80 amps of usable power.
I might be in trouble then. 48 amps in lights alone. 13 in ac.

Whats involved with upgrading to 150 or 200?
 
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